1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a prosthetic foot and ankle and, more particularly, to a prosthetic foot and ankle with asymmetrically cascading motion and incremental articulations that closely mimic the natural motion of a human foot and ankle.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional prosthetic devices are well known and have been in use for a number of years. Reference is made to the following few exemplary U.S. Patent Publications, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,326,365; 5,443,527; 5,116,384; 3,982,280; 5,158,570; 5,728,177; 6,926,739; 3,889,300; 3,987,500; 6,733,260; 6,290,730; 5,683,468; 5,913,902; 4,360,931; 5,258,038; 4,645,509; 4,892,544; 5,037,444; 5,156,632; 4,636,220; 5,062,859; 4,865,612; 4,306,320; 5,219,365; 5,139,525; 4,446,580; 6,129,766; 6,443,995; 5,695,526; 6,120,547; 5,769,896; 5,443,527; 6,187,052; 6,719,807; and U.S. Patent Application Publications 2007/0106396; 2006/0020345; 2005/0182492; 2004/0186585. Regrettably, most prior art conventional prosthetic devices suffer from obvious disadvantages in that they are bulky and do not simulate the natural motion of the human extremity such as a human ankle and foot.
Accordingly, in light of the current state of the art and the drawbacks to current prosthetic devices mentioned above, a need exists for a prosthetic device that closely resembles the anatomy of the human body extremity in terms of structure (e.g., ankle and foot), and closely mimics the natural motion of a human extremity such as the ankle and foot.